Labels and default values for @parameter in scripts

[Michael Entrup]

Hi,

using script parameters might be a nice solution to write small scripts
that need user inputs. But there are some drawbacks that keep me away
from using script parameters.

In plugins you can define labels and default values for parameters. In
scripts this is not possible.

The default values are strange. When using @Integer the default value is
'-2.147.483.648'.

You can't select the full input field by using a double click. The minus
sign is not selected, when double clicking the number.

Using [Tab] to switch between fields works bad. Normally I expect that
the content of the next input field is selected, but only the cursor is
placed at the next field. [Ctrl]+[A] is necessary to replace the default
value.

The attached screen shot shows the dialog that is shown, when using 4
different script parameters.

Is all this intended, or is still work in progress?
Except this page [1] I can't find any documentation on using script
parameters in ImageJ. Is there some more documentation, I was not able
to find?

Best regards
Michael


[1] http://imagej.net/Script_parameters

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[Mark Hiner]

Hi Michael,

It's great to see people using script parameters. These are a new feature
introduced with ImageJ2[1], and thus are still relatively new - so feedback
like this is both helpful and necessary in making these features robust.
For ImageJ2-specific features like this, you can also use the imagej-devel
mailing list[2] or file issues directly on GitHub[3].

> Except this page I can't find any documentation on using script
parameters in ImageJ. Is there some more documentation, I was not able to
find?

This is the intended documentation page. It's definitely sparse right now.
I am updating it in response to your feedback, but if you have any more
suggestions/requests for what would be helpful here, please let us know.

> In plugins you can define labels and default values for parameters. In
scripts this is not possible.

I had to dig around for this a bit, but it actually is possible! It uses
the same Java syntax as plugins, but requires the properties (like labels
and default values) to be in a parenthetical expression. Examples are now
on the wiki[4].

>The default values are strange.

Agreed. I added an issue[5] for this.

> You can't select the full input field by using a double click.
> Using [Tab] to switch between fields works bad

These are UI-specific[6] issues and so shouldn't be problems with scripting
itself. I was able to confirm this behavior on a mac, so I'll look into it.

Thank you for the comments!

Best,
Mark

[1] http://imagej.net/ImageJ2
[2] http://imagej.net/Mailing_lists
[3] http://imagej.net/Source_code#Source_code
[4] http://imagej.net/Script_parameters#Parameter_properties
[5] https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/issues/160
[6] https://github.com/scijava/scijava-ui-swing

On Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 6:28 AM, Michael Entrup <
[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> using script parameters might be a nice solution to write small scripts
> that need user inputs. But there are some drawbacks that keep me away from
> using script parameters.
>
> In plugins you can define labels and default values for parameters. In
> scripts this is not possible.
>
> The default values are strange. When using @Integer the default value is '-
> 2.147.483.648'.
>
> You can't select the full input field by using a double click. The minus
> sign is not selected, when double clicking the number.
>
> Using [Tab] to switch between fields works bad. Normally I expect that the
> content of the next input field is selected, but only the cursor is placed
> at the next field. [Ctrl]+[A] is necessary to replace the default value.
>
> The attached screen shot shows the dialog that is shown, when using 4
> different script parameters.
>
> Is all this intended, or is still work in progress?
> Except this page [1] I can't find any documentation on using script
> parameters in ImageJ. Is there some more documentation, I was not able to
> find?
>
> Best regards
> Michael
>
>
> [1] http://imagej.net/Script_parameters
>
> --
> ImageJ mailing list: http://imagej.nih.gov/ij/list.html
>

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[Mark Hiner]

Hello,

Just wanted you to know that if you update to the latest release[1] many of
the issues you brought up have been resolved and improved.

>You can't select the full input field by using a double click

In my original reply I forgot to mention that I believe this is a Java-ism.
The most reliable way to select the full text of an input field with the
mouse is to triple click.

Thanks again.

Best,
Mark

[1] http://imagej.net/2015-05-01_-_ImageJ_2.0.0-rc-30

On Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 9:32 AM, Mark Hiner <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hi Michael,
>
> It's great to see people using script parameters. These are a new feature
> introduced with ImageJ2[1], and thus are still relatively new - so feedback
> like this is both helpful and necessary in making these features robust.
> For ImageJ2-specific features like this, you can also use the imagej-devel
> mailing list[2] or file issues directly on GitHub[3].
>
> > Except this page I can't find any documentation on using script
> parameters in ImageJ. Is there some more documentation, I was not able to
> find?
>
> This is the intended documentation page. It's definitely sparse right now.
> I am updating it in response to your feedback, but if you have any more
> suggestions/requests for what would be helpful here, please let us know.
>
> > In plugins you can define labels and default values for parameters. In
> scripts this is not possible.
>
> I had to dig around for this a bit, but it actually is possible! It uses
> the same Java syntax as plugins, but requires the properties (like labels
> and default values) to be in a parenthetical expression. Examples are now
> on the wiki[4].
>
> >The default values are strange.
>
> Agreed. I added an issue[5] for this.
>
> > You can't select the full input field by using a double click.
> > Using [Tab] to switch between fields works bad
>
> These are UI-specific[6] issues and so shouldn't be problems with
> scripting itself. I was able to confirm this behavior on a mac, so I'll
> look into it.
>
> Thank you for the comments!
>
> Best,
> Mark
>
> [1] http://imagej.net/ImageJ2
> [2] http://imagej.net/Mailing_lists
> [3] http://imagej.net/Source_code#Source_code
> [4] http://imagej.net/Script_parameters#Parameter_properties
> [5] https://github.com/scijava/scijava-common/issues/160
> [6] https://github.com/scijava/scijava-ui-swing
>
> On Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 6:28 AM, Michael Entrup <
> [hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> using script parameters might be a nice solution to write small scripts
>> that need user inputs. But there are some drawbacks that keep me away from
>> using script parameters.
>>
>> In plugins you can define labels and default values for parameters. In
>> scripts this is not possible.
>>
>> The default values are strange. When using @Integer the default value is
>> '-2.147.483.648'.
>>
>> You can't select the full input field by using a double click. The minus
>> sign is not selected, when double clicking the number.
>>
>> Using [Tab] to switch between fields works bad. Normally I expect that
>> the content of the next input field is selected, but only the cursor is
>> placed at the next field. [Ctrl]+[A] is necessary to replace the default
>> value.
>>
>> The attached screen shot shows the dialog that is shown, when using 4
>> different script parameters.
>>
>> Is all this intended, or is still work in progress?
>> Except this page [1] I can't find any documentation on using script
>> parameters in ImageJ. Is there some more documentation, I was not able to
>> find?
>>
>> Best regards
>> Michael
>>
>>
>> [1] http://imagej.net/Script_parameters
>>
>> --
>> ImageJ mailing list: http://imagej.nih.gov/ij/list.html
>>
>
>

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